Comments: 3rd Judicial District

To: Richard B. M.
Commisioner of Jurors

From Chester T.

Re: Jury Duty

I was recently summoned for jury duty on September 13th.
Unfortunately, my number did not come up, and I did not
have an opportunity to serve. However, I would like to compliment
you and your staff on, what I consider, a very pleasant
experience.

Initially, I was called for Grand Jury. Unable to attend
because of travel plans, a short call and pleasant response
from one of your staff got me reassigned to Trial at a more
convient date.

The printed instructions I subsequently received were consise,
informative and helpful.

The initial meeting of the jury pool on Monday morning
was extremely well conducted. It was obvious at the outset
that there were many who were less that happy at being called.
However, your well delivered remarks were excellent and
set the proper tone for a courtroom and the job at hand.
It is difficult to deliver at set speech repeatedly (as
you must do) with conviction and enthusiasm - yet you did
this extremely well. The atmosphere following your remarks
was markedly different - all of us were seriour and respectful
of our duties as prospective jurors.

My congratulations to you and your staff ! You may well
be proud of your performance as public servants in such
extremely important positions.

It hadn't been ten months since I registered to vote in
Ulster County when I was pegged with a summons for jury
duty. At age 19, I had frankly expected that my name would
kick around the pool of eligible citizens for at least a
few years before I was selected for this particular duty.
Nonetheless, there was the summons; loudly exclaiming "'Wetcome
to jury service in Ulster County! " as if the letter would
inspire enthusiasm in its recipients.

Actually, in my case it did inspire some feelings. Like
dread, and the desire to be unavailable for "the term of
service." A term of service consists of "one trial or one
week."

Regardless of, my reservations, Icalled in to find
out when I had been called to appear and went to the Ulster
County court house on the specified date to perform my honorable
civil duty.

Some 200 potential jurors were seated in a courtroom, being
processed in a classroom style roll call. To say that some
of the juror group held disgruntled dispositions would be
an understatment. Everyone had a generally displeased appearance,
ranging from "resigned to hours of inescapable boedom"
to "hostile and looking for an object of blame".
I was almost certainly the youngest person in the group,
and certainly the youngestin appearance. A few minutes late,
I took a seat between a man who was clearly running on a
short fuse, and an older woman who appeared prepared for
a state of deep sleep just a few minutes into the process.

After the clerk had finished attendance, Commissioner of
Jurors Richard M. addressed the group, explaining the
process and fielding questions. After patiently answering
a few combative, pointed questions from the more belligerent
jurors, he split US up for the trials we could be potentially
seated for.

It had barely been 20 minutes before we were informed that
our trial had settled and that we were dismissed. We were
thanked, and assured that it'was our presence that had caused
the settlement. It was fairly painless, compared to what
most people seemed to be gearing up for.

Still, even after appeanng once, each juror is, required
to call in each night of the week they serve to find out
if they are to appear the next day.

Of course, once wasnt enough. I was called back three days
later, and three days later I was sitting among the same
group, albeit a slightly angrier and more impatient group.
This day, one tardy gentleman was asked for his juror number,
which he confidehtlyproclaimed to be 210.

"We called up to 200. said the clerk. "I'm number
210... ohhhhhh. That's bad, " said the man, clearly embarrassed.

The discourse was met by a wave of laughter from the juror
group, who seemed cruelly amused. After all, the next worse
thing to showing up for jury duty when you have to is showing
up for jury duty when you don 't have to.

To his relief, he was informed he could stay and would
receive credit for his service.

Within ten minutes of roll call, we were informed that
we were supposed to be seated for a criminal case. This
plan was facing one minor roadblock: the plaintiff was on
the run. Apparently, to the bewilderment of his attorney,
and everyone else, the plaintiff had neglected to show up
and now was presumably in hiding. The judge had issued a
bench warrant for the, plaintiff, meaning the police were
to search for him. This meant we were done for the day.

This time, we were done for good.

Now it will be another four years before I'm eligible
for sevice again, without ever having been interviwed for
a jury. Pretty easy this time around.

Gettingcalled for jury duty is surely an inconvenience.
People have jobs, and children to take care of, and their
time is valuable to them. This time seems to creep by at
a crawl even for short stints at the courthouse. The unhappiness
at getting called for jury duty is tempered by the patience
and understanding of people in charge of the jury
process, who no doubt routinely face the rancor of belligerent
unwilling participants.

I was truly impressed by the juror staff
and Commissioner M. We were treated like the only
jury pool to serve for the court, though
clearly the same speech is recited to a new jury every week,
and the same questions fielded. They
consistently went to lengths to assure us the importance
of our participation.

As Commissioner M. puts it on the letter accompanying
the summons, "Your participation in the jury process is crucial as it helps to insure the individual rights
of everyone in the community. "

After all, if I were wrongfully tried for a crime, I would
want a jury of reasonable people to
help acquit me. Wouldn't you?

I do so appreciate your kindness when I visited your office
last week. So often one is not treated well in public offices,
so it is very refreshing when one is. I know, since I worked
for the County of Montgomery for 23 years, and some of our
clerks were unpleasent.

I found out that the wills that used to be housed in Queen's
College in Flushing, Long Island, for the County of Albany,
are now in the New York State Library. The ones I saw were
similar to your will index and not any earlier. The other
earlier wills for Albany County I was told are in the NEW
YORK STATE ARCHIVES.. . the 3d floor, but the genealogist
who told me this did not know what time period they covered.
I will check this the next time I go there and get back
to you.

I apologize for not being there for the record I had asked
you to retrieve. and this is where ublic servants have every
right to be annoyed with the public!! I just had to get
back to Fonda for a birthday party for my grandson. So little
time, it seems!! I will check that out if I can ever get
there that time in the afternoon. Usually, my husband naps
and he always comes with me. I shall see!!

Thank you so very much for all of your help. You are surely
a great asset to your department.

I would think sir if you were selling the service that
you would have many satisfied repeat customers. That is
I found that you and your staff did your job very well and
Ulster Conty should be very proud of the way that you and
your staff conduct business which is done in a very professional
manner showing respect for the manypeople that are called
to serve. I found the way that your personally deal with
the ctizens who serve to be what the citizen should expect
from public servants and that is just to be treated as fellow
human beings. so again if this newspaper was rating the
service performed with the other county againcies that I
have dealt with on a five star basis being top you and your
staff are now officially rated be The Ellenville Press as
a five star Ulster County Agency and should be proud of
what you do which I am sure is more often as not very frustrating
but one of the most important services this county performs.

Justice in this county to some is as bad a joke as politics
and the fortunate fact is they both are two of the most
important aspects of this great country. Without a peaceful
turn over of our leadership in this country to another elected
officials by the people we would be no better of than most
third world nations and without our justice system again
we could be no better than those in the prior justice system
of Afghanistan. Nothing in this great country is perfect
the only saving grace is we keep trying to do what is right
and you are part of the process as those who are called
to serve.

This editorial was one of the longest that this paper ever
published but we felt it was important to get what we felt
out. I hope that I have represented your office and the
job that is done by you folks correctly as possible. I wish
you and all your staff a very happy holiday and healthy
New Year. I will pray that your mission becomes easier as
time moves on in that the citizens of this contry will take
the responsibilities of citizenship and the duties such
as voting and jury duty with a renewed fervor.

I was summoned for jury duty on Monday, November 26.
I arrived at the courthouse with a bit of trepidation. I
had never in my life been in a courtroom!

You introduced yourself to us and spoke about what would
take place and gave us a little history on how we are selected
for jury duty. I have never known anything about the system
- you educated me that day. You introduced us to your staff
and roll call was taken. They were very professional, patient
had helpful.

Over the course of that Monday and Tuesday I was in the
'audience' for a civil case - my name was not called and
then on to a criminal case - again my name was not called.
During those two days and the "waiting periods"
you and your staff always kept us informed. We always knew
what was happening.

I was enthralled by the whole process. I am proud of our
judicial system and am thankful that you and your staff
are dedicated to the job you must do. Thank you!